Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

The room was spacious, being some thirty by thirty feet. Windows opened on the beach and showed off the nearby gray cliffs and the sparkling water at their base. A gold-plated chandelier hung above us and a chimney of smoothed stone stood in the wall to our right. The huge bed was situated about ten feet from the hearth and featured a top decked with white lace. The space between the door and the bed was occupied by a small round table with four high-backed chairs. Their curved arms and clawed feet showed the mastery of the carpenter who had crafted them. A large rug lay beneath the table and smaller ones dotted the rest of the floorboards.

The room was finished off by another door to the right of the chimney. Tegan strolled across the room and peeked inside. "The bath," he announced as he slipped into the marbled room. "And indoor plumbing, as well." He stepped back into view and leaned his side against the door frame. A bemused smile graced his lips as he folded his arms over his chest. "Not bad for third-class accommodations."

I lifted an eyebrow. "You mean not all the rooms look like this?"

"I doubt it," Tegan mused as he sauntered to one of the windows and looked out. "The third floor is reserved for guests who aren't generally welcome. The stairs encourage them to leave as soon as possible."

I joined him at the glass and admired the breathtaking view of the beach and ocean. "At least we have a good view."

Tegan smiled. "Yes, and a better angle to watch our reluctant host."

His attention dropped to the white sand where Lusio had finished the placement of his troops. The staves stuck out of the sands with one half opposite the other and a gap of some hundred feet between them.

"What are those bubble sticks, anyway?" I asked him.

"A child's toy," Tegan explained as his eyes flitted from one group to the other. "A simple magical concoction is placed in the jars and the wind blows through holes in the sides which tingles the magic and forces bubbles up so children can play with them."

I furrowed my brow. "I didn't see any holes."

He shook his head. "Neither did I, but the concoction was the same. Lucy and I played with them many times when we were children."

"So what would Lusio want with a kid's game?" I wondered.

"I suspect we'll have to wait until tomorrow to get our answer," he mused as he smiled at me. "In the meantime, why don't we enjoy the view? The sun will be setting in a few hours so we won't have another chance until tomorrow."

"You mean a stroll on the beach?" I guessed.

He offered me his arm. "My thoughts exactly."

I accepted his arm and grinned. "Let's go."

In a few minutes, we found ourselves strolling down the long beach in the direction away from the cliffs. The setting sun glistened on the horizon as the light faded around us, casting long shadows on this unfamiliar place. The sea breeze wafted over us and the gentle sand squished beneath us. The beach grass waved in the wind and a few sea birds flew overheard calling to one another. I felt as though we were the last two people on the planet, and I was fine with that.

I leaned my cheek against Tegan's arm and sighed. "I can see why Lusio put a house here. It's so peaceful."

"I doubt we will find a neighbor within five miles of here," Tegan mused.

A few bits of sea spray struck us and I couldn't help but giggle. "I think I could get used to the protection business."

He shook his head. "It won't always be like this, not if Domini is right, and a man with his connections is rarely wrong."

My shoulders sagged and I frowned at him. "You just had to ruin the mood, didn't you?"

Tegan leaned down and pecked a kiss on my lips. "Does that make things better?"

I wrinkled my nose to try to hide my appreciation. "It's a start, but only a start."

I looked inward toward the many grass-covered dunes that acted as a transition between the sea and land. A well-trampled path between two dunes caught my attention. "Where do you think that leads?"

"No idea, but we should find out," Tegan suggested as he turned us toward the trail.

We had only gone a few feet when he suddenly stiffened. I looked questioningly up at him and found his face was tense. "What's the-"

He tackled me to the ground and a gust of wind blasted over us. I ate a mouthful of sand as Tegan jerked his head up. He scowled in the direction further down the beach. I sputtered out the sand and looked at what had caught his attention.

My heart stopped when I saw Quinn and Conor, the wind Key and Clasp, standing at the edge of one of the dunes about a hundred feet from us. They both held up their hands with the palms facing our direction. Balls of wind magic swirled in front of their hands pointing straight at us.

Things got worse when a short figure stepped out from behind them. It was Morrigan, the old senator of the Key Council. She was clad in her customary purple robes and had a smile on her face.

"What a pleasant surprise," she mused as she clasped her hands together in front of us. "I did not expect to meet you two here. It must be fate."

"It's something," Tegan quipped as he helped me to my feet. Bits of sand fell off us as his eyes darted over the area.

Morrigan chuckled. "There's no use trying to escape, not in an area ruled by the winds. At best, you would drop out of the sky, and at worst you would find yourself swimming against the tidal pull."

Tegan drew me behind him as the situation looked tense. I could feel his muscles ripple as indecision between revealing his wings weighed against Morrigan's words. He decided on the risk and his wings burst out of his back. The wind users blasted their magic at us and Tegan threw his arms up to block the dual blows.

A thin bolt of some electrical force shot out from the direction of the dunes and crashed into the winds, fizzling them to nothing. It was the turn of our foes to stiffen and Morrigan whipped her head to the dunes. Another arc of yellowish electricity shot out of the grassy mounds, but this time the bolt traveled upward before it burst into a million sparkling bits.

Morrigan narrowed her eyes at the beautiful brilliance. She caught the attention of Conor the Clasp and pointed her finger at the dunes. "See who is in there!"

Conor nodded and hurried across the sand. He had barely reached the edge of the grass and the trampled path I'd noticed earlier when a bolt of lightning shot out from the dunes and struck him in the torso. He was thrown back several yards and landed with a soft thump on the sand. I could hear the air knocked from his lungs and he let out a strangled wheeze.

Quinn was at his side in a moment and he helped his Clasp sit up. Morrigan stalked over to the pair, keeping one sharp eye on the dunes, and set a hand on Quinn's shoulder. "Focus, Key. There is something evil here that must be dealt with."

He lifted an eyebrow at her. "You recognize this magic, ma'am?"

"Never you mind," she snapped more harshly than I'd ever heard her, even when we were littering her office with shattered glass. "Just get up and-"

Whatever her instructions were to be, they were interrupted by the sound of a horse whinnying. Tegan and I half-turned and found Lusio riding bare-backed toward us on an elegant white steed.

And he was not pleased.